


a car that runs on water, man

by lurKINGaroundd



Series: that 70's show au [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Attempt at Humor, Bonding, F/M, Fluff, MJ Is A Little Shit, Peter is a Little Shit, Pining, Prequel, Romance, That 70's Show AU no one asked, That 70's Show AU no one needed, everyone is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-26
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-08-07 17:10:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16412504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lurKINGaroundd/pseuds/lurKINGaroundd
Summary: Michelle was bad.  Or so was her reputation. And that’s why she was not really found of Peter. He was the opposite of her.Peter was good, too nice. She knew him from afar, Ned’s best friend who didn’t usually go down to the basement.(prequel)The one where rebel Michelle Jones starts falling for the nerd Peter Parker, but he's still with Gwen Stacy.That 70's Show AU that no one asked and no one needed, but I wrote it anyway.





	a car that runs on water, man

**Author's Note:**

> The part two of the series!
> 
> I strongly recommend you to read the first part, here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16400438
> 
> It's a prequel!
> 
> Warning for underage drinking and smoking, but if you ever watched That 70's Show, you already knew that. ;)
> 
> Please, enjoy. Leave comments!

Michelle was bad. Or so was her reputation. And that’s why she was not really found of Peter. He was the opposite of her. 

Peter was good, too nice. She knew him from afar, Ned’s best friend who didn’t usually go down to the basement.

It was impossible for her to like him, the boy from a literature and science club at school.

It’s not that Michelle doesn’t like books, it was quite the opposite, actually. She just didn’t like school, and clubs. Clubs were stupid, she thought.

The only group activities she would enroll were protests (she was a Black Panther Party enthusiast), the usual circle she formed with her friends at Betty’s basement to smoke pot, or a party where she could get wasted. 

But school clubs? Nah. That was for squares. For squares like Peter. Or Betty. Sometimes Betty had to act like a nerd too, so she could keep up appearances with her parents.

And what was strange for her was that Peter had quit his clubs. The fact that she noticed it was even stranger. 

Was he going through a phase? She wondered. Was he going to show up with a leather jacket next? 

The answer was no. Peter looked clean as always, but the boy was always running from something, or to something, she didn’t know. Always late, always skipping class. 

Why was no one talking about it? 

Why was Michelle the only one noticing that he was about to break her record of how much classes she had skipped? From all the times when she got out to smoke a cigarette, for the sake of it, for rebellion.

And surprisingly, Peter starts dating Gwen Stacy. 

Apparently, according to Peter’s logic, if he was already Ned’s best friend, and now Gwen’s boyfriend, he had to show up at the basement where everyone was always hanging out. 

That way, Michelle was being forced to see his stupid face and hear his stupid voice everyday. 

And MJ was vocal about her discontentment. Everyone knew Peter and Michelle didn’t get along.

Before, she actually thought that she could handle it, if only Peter would at least shut his mouth. But the things is, he always had something to say.

Like now. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Peter said.

Annoyed, MJ gave him the middle finger, and turned to talk to Betty.. “Listen to them up there. Your parents party has reached a critical mass.” She explained to Betty. “In ten minutes, there will be no more beer opportunities.”

Betty seemed to think about it. “If my dad catches me stealing beers, he’ll kill me.”

“I’m willing to take that risk!” Michelle exclaimed, and Betty rolled her eyes at MJ’s cynicism. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Gwen tried to boost Betty’s confidence. “Just remain calm, and keep moving.”

“And preferably, bring cold ones.” Ned finally said something and Peter looked at his best friend as if he was asking ‘you too?’ and Ned just shrugged.

“Yes! Excellent point, Leeds.” Michelle got up from her seat, and grabbed Betty’s face to make a point, to give her a pep talk. “Betty… Cold. Definitely cold.” 

“I believe in you, Betty.” Flash complemented.

Betty, finally convinced, just nodded, and went upstairs, on her quest for beer.

When Betty got back to the basement with the drinks, everyone cheered. 

Even Peter tried one, but when he grimaced after the first sip of his beer can, Michelle just walked to him, and got the drink out of his hands. 

“More for me, loser.” She said. He didn’t argue.

MJ didn’t want to have to watch him make this weirdly endearing expression on his face every time he took a sip of alcohol.

“Let’s focus on what’s important here, people. Betty stole something.” Michelle raised her beer can. “To Betty!”

“To Betty!” Everyone chanted. Peter cheered too, even though he wasn’t drinking.

“You know what’s sad?” Betty said, faking an emotional voice. “This is the proudest day of my life.”

MJ thought that she actually saw Peter laughing.

What a sight.

Wait, was she drunk already?

Later, he went home with Gwen. 

She knew Gwen, and Michelle was confused as to why she was in a relationship with a boy like Peter. Stacy was a wild one.

And for the way he was always running around her like a puppy, and she wasn’t exactly doing the same for him, Michelle thought they wouldn’t last.

And that was good, right? The soon Gwen and Peter break up, the sooner she wouldn’t have to see him anymore.

The other day, they were getting ready for a circle. 

Gwen invited Peter. Michelle wanted to groan.

MJ expected the boy to come along just because his little girlfriend asked him to, and he was her little puppet trying too hard to look cool.

Instead, he politely denied the invitation, and said bye.

Huh.

She thought he was going to do everything Gwen asked, even going against his own habits for her.

At least Peter had some basic consistency with himself, Michelle could give him that.

Maybe he was more than she thought he was, only maybe.

“We need some serious gas money.” Ned said.

The circle was on.

“This whole gas shortage bites.” Betty whined. As always she needed money for gas for her Vista Cruiser.

“There is no gas shortage, Betty.” Michelle said. “It’s all fake. The oil companies control everything. Like, there’s this guy who invented this car… that runs on water, man. It’s got a fiberglass, air-cooled engine and it runs on water!”

“But that’s a boat.” Flash said back.

“No, it’s a car!” MJ stared at Flash through her sunglasses. “Only you put water in the gas tank instead of gas.” She started laughing. “And it runs on water, man!”

Gwen was laughing too. “I never heard of this car.”

And as time passed, one by one, they left the basement. Until it was just Michelle and Gwen.

“I’m not good with this girlfriend thing.” Gwen blurted out.

What are you talking about? MJ wanted to ask.

Instead, she said. “Hey, you know the rules. No talking about feelings on the circle.”

“I’m going to break up with Peter.” Gwen said, ignoring Michelle’s words completely. “Maybe tomorrow. Or next month. Someday.” 

And then she started laughing out of nowhere, because well, they were on the circle.

Michelle hid any kind of non-aloof expression behind the shade of her glasses. “I think it’s time for you leave my house. Go home.” 

“Already?” Gwen whined. “It’s not even your house! It’s Betty’s.”

“I live on this basement. Get out.” MJ said calmly.

A month later, Peter was still Gwen’s boyfriend.

It was night, and Michelle was alone in the basement. Sitting on her chair, drinking from a bottle of beer. 

She liked being tall. It meant she could fool everyone with her fake id without a problem. And that meant she could buy beer for herself sometimes. 

So she was there, drinking alone, watching TV, ignoring the burn she felt on her skin. The slight pain coming from her knuckles and face.

What she didn’t expect was Peter showing up at her door. “Hey, uh, have you seen Gwen?”

“No.” She answered. “I thought she was with you.”

“Oh. She didn’t answer when I called her house, so I figured she was here.” She didn’t hear the always upbeat tone of voice coming from him this time. It was weird.

“Well, she’s not here.” 

Peter smiled a smile that didn’t seem right. “I guess… she forgot we had a date tonight.”

“Ah, you know how she is… forgetful.” She honestly didn’t know why she was defending Gwen, and, or, comforting Peter.

“Yea- Wait, what’s wrong with you?” He asked as he walked closer to her.

“What?” She asked, but then she remembered.

Oh, her bruises.

On her knuckles, lips, and cheek. The fact that she wasn’t wearing her sunglasses at the moment didn’t really help her case of hiding the bruises.

“What happened?” Peter questioned, sounding worried.

She sighed. “A bar fight.” It was true.

He groaned and rolled her eyes at her. 

Right, because even though Peter was a goody two-shoes, he was one of the few people who dared to face her.

Before MJ could say anything else, he went upstairs, out of the basement. She was confused. 

When he got back, he had a first aid kit in hands. 

“Wait, wait, Parker. Did you just steal from Betty’s parents?” She asked sarcastically.

“S-shut up.” Peter replied, and dragged the couch closer to where MJ was sitting. “You need to treat these.” He said, sitting on the couch, getting from the box what he needed to clean her bruises.

“No need to worry. You should see the other guy.” She smirked, and really, Peter should. She beat the other guy up good. 

She lost her cool, but where the zen ends, the ass-kicking begins. And Michelle kicked ass.

Peter sighed, and she was expecting some kind of lecture about violence from him.

“Be more careful next time. There are really bad guys out there.” Peter said instead. He held her injured hand, and started to softly rub a piece of cotton on her knuckles, slowly. Patiently. 

The one word she found to describe this action was… delicate.

Michelle tried to keep her cool, though. “Aren’t you gonna say I should stop beating up assholes in bar fights?”

“Well, I should tell you that.” He was still gently cleaning her hand. “But then, that wouldn’t be you, right? It’s not like I can stop you from being you just because I’m worried.”

Not stop her from being her.

Worried.

Damn you, Peter Parker.

Michelle didn’t say something back to that, afraid she was going to blurt out something stupid.

He finished with her hands, and wrapped her knuckles on band-aids. 

“Let me see your face.” Peter said, and dragged the couch an inch closer to her.

And MJ just stood there as he cleaned the tiny bruise on her upper lip, and then on her cheek. 

Why was he being so… sweet? 

She wasn’t even his girlfriend for him to give her such treatment.

Not even her mother, when she was around, took such care for little stupid bruises. Her mom wasn’t a good point of reference for this kind of thing, but still.

It was so… so soft.

“Leave her.”

The words escaped her mouth, as if she didn't have any control over herself, and maybe in that second, she really didn’t.

“What?” 

“Leave her… a note. For Gwen. Since she didn’t show up.”

“Oh. Right.”

When he finished, she asked. “How do you know how to patch up bruises like that?”

Peter suddenly looked nervous, and she couldn’t see why. “What? That was nothing, just, just cleaning and band-aids.”

“Yeah, but you look like you’re really used to it.”

“I-I, Uh, My aunt! Yes, my aunt May. She, she gets hurt a lot, you know, like falling from the stairs and stuff.” He tried to explain.

MJ looked at him like she didn’t understand him. “And why do you take care of your aunt?”

“I live with her.” Peter replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She raises me. She’s like a mom to me. You know, like Betty’s mom is to you.” 

“Oh.” Michelle managed to say.

She was bit mad at herself for not realizing it before. MJ never really had the mind to pay attention to Peter’s home life. For some reason she just assumed he was a kid like Betty. As if MJ felt he was too bright to be anything like her.

“What about your parents?” She asked.

“Uh, dead. Car accident.” He replied briefly. “Your mom didn’t call or something?”

Of course. He was aware of her home life situation. Well, she was living in a basement, so it was kind of difficult not to notice.

“No. She’s still out there. Somewhere.” Michelle answered. She wasn’t expecting her mom to show up anymore. 

“Well, your basement is cool, and Betty’s mom is really sweet. Her food is great too.”

MJ grinned. “Yeah, it’s pretty great.”

They never mentioned that night again, as if nothing ever happened. 

And Michelle thought, that maybe, for Peter, nothing really happened, since he was just being his kind self to another person, even if that person was her. 

For her, well, something weird happened. She couldn’t really explain it, though.

In the end, she ended up calling him a loser every time he said anything nerdy, like always, and he never stopped himself from affronting her, like always.

“I broke up with Peter.” Gwen said one day, like it was nothing. “Do you guys have anything to drink?” 

Oh, crap.

“Oh, so that’s why Ned said he was too busy to come see me.” Betty commented, and handed the other blonde a bottle of coca-cola.

“You were just messing around with the guy, right?” Flash asked.

“Uhm, kinda. I thought I could do this whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing. But I guess I can’t.” She replied nonchalantly.

“Welcome back to the single life, Gwenie.” Flash said.

Oh, fuck.

Poor neglected Peter.

And what now? How was Michelle going to see him if he’s not going to show up at the basement anymore? 

The whole reason he was always there was because of Gwen.

Maybe he’ll come for Ned?

Nah, these two are friends since forever, and he didn’t use to hang at the basement before Gwen.

Well, screw Gwen. She totally ruined her chances of seeing this stupid nerd.

Great, now Michelle Jones was never going to see Peter Parker again.

She should be happy, but guess what? She wasn’t. 

Peter didn’t show up at the basement the next day. And the next day after that.

In the third day, she was almost thinking of weird ways that would make it possible for her to see him. Michelle was almost doing the absolute crazy move of going out of her way to talk to him at school.

But during the middle of that third day, Peter showed up.

Everyone but Gwen was present, maybe he would show up during times where the blond was out. MJ hoped.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

Was it for Ned? Michelle wondered.

“You may not like me, but I’m part of the gang too.” He answered, and sat by the circle. “So, how do you guys do it?” 

Okay, so he was being pretty straight-forward. And marking his territory, his own territory. 

Peter was there not because he was associated to Gwen or Ned, but because he wanted to be there. He was part of this like everyone else in the room.

“What? You wanna be on the circle?” Flash confusedly asked.

“Yeah. Ned told me it’s kinda cool, so why not?”

Well, if he was doing it for himself and himself only, then, Michelle is not a girl to refuse a blunt to a curious boy.

And if he was doing it because he was feeling down, she could completely understand.

“So, my dad doesn’t like Spider-Man.” Betty said, already feeling groggy. Peter stilled at her words. “He was ranting about it this morning. The old man thinks he’s a commie.”

Ned looked at Peter with wide eyes, and Peter gave him the same look back.

“Spider-Man is cool.” Michelle said, to Peter’s surprise. “And if he’s a commie that’s even better. I mean, the red of his suit gotta mean something, right?”

“What if – what if it’s just his favorite color?” Ned suggested, and Peter had a bad feeling about how this conversation was going.

“No, man. It has to mean something deeper. What if he’s a spy from the U.R.S.S?” Michelle argued.

“You and your conspiracy theories.” Betty commented. “That doesn’t make any sense. If he’s a spy from the Soviet Union then his suit would be red and yellow, and not red and blue, duh.”

“I’ve – I’ve heard he’s actually buddies with Tony Stark.” Ned said, and this time Peter hit him with his elbow.

“What?” Flash asked. “The guy that explodes things with his palms?” He mimicked Iron Man’s classic move.

“The guy literally built an iron armor that flies, and the only thing you have to say about him is his palms?” Peter finally said something.

“I don’t trust rich people.” Michelle declared.

“But hey, how do you think Spider-Man fits his balls in that suit?” Flash wondered.

Peter started nervously coughing.

“Women will never be free in capitalism.” MJ said as if that was the answer for Flash’s question.

Peter would end up laughing like a complete idiot the entire time. They all thought he was high, but he just hid the fact the he couldn’t possibly get high, not with his super enhanced body. He was just laughing of everyone’s absurd musings.

**Author's Note:**

> (English is not my native language, so I apologize for any mistakes.)
> 
> Iron Man's comics have been around since a long time ago too, so he's also a thing here, haha.
> 
> Do you guys want me to keep going with this? Cause if you do, I have some ideas.
> 
> I'm thinking about doing a few prequels, and then get back to where I left off in the first part, or something like that.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Leave me a review, a comment. It means a great lot to me!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading.


End file.
